Noteworthy

News from around the Tampa Bay area

By Times Staff
Published June 24, 2006

Officers who shot man return to duty

Two Clearwater police officers have returned to regular duty after being cleared in the fatal shooting of a man wielding a sword with a 16-inch blade. Officer Robert Furman shot Joshua Paul Rosenbloom once with a "less-lethal" beanbag round when Rosenbloom advanced on him with a sword, police say. When Rosenbloom didn't stop, Officer George Phillips shot him three times with a department-issued .40-caliber handgun, authorities said. The shooting occurred June 8 at Lantana Apartments, near Drew Street and U.S. 19.

Pinellas health agency gets a new director

Dr. Claude Dharamraj, longtime assistant director of the Pinellas County Health Department, has been promoted to lead the agency. Dharamraj, a pediatrician, has been assistant director since 1990. She will replace Dr. John Heilman, who is retiring. Dharamraj, 57, received her M.D. from the Faculte de Medecine in Lille, France, in 1975 and trained in New York, Michigan and Shands Hospital at the University of Florida.

Hospital stay delays man's sentencing

Remember the 84-year-old St. Petersburg man arrested last year, accused of shooting seven times into a neighbor's mobile home? Don Keehn is 85 now, and missed court Friday afternoon because he is in the hospital. The judge postponed sentencing until July 7. Keehn's daughter said he has prostate cancer and kidney problems, and is stressed by the prospect of five years in prison. Keehn pleaded no contest to five felony counts of shooting at, within or into a building.

Corrections

* William Abraham Fernandez, a construction worker injured Thursday in an accident at the University of South Florida, is 43. Because of incorrect information from law enforcement, a story Friday gave the wrong age. * The night of his death, police reports state, Michael Niesen was ejected from his car, but his brother, John Niesen, disputes that. A May 26 AP story about allegations of misconduct against Bay County medical examiner Dr. Charles Siebert misstated John Niesen's view.